how is the “commercial” avenue supposed to make profit if nasa isn’t funding it. and if it can’t, isn’t it just a government program?

NASA is not the only entity that send things into orbit.

the dead end of commercial space is that it can only function as a factor of government work. it’s not a viable industry by itself.

SpaceX does not seems to only rely on government orders.

True, NASA helped (well, it is an understatment) SpaceX, but now it could capitalize on it if the costs are the one @[email protected] pointed out.